The complexity of coming out in men’s football

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Something changes in men’s football when Jakub Jankto has just declared his homosexuality. However, this sport still needs change to adapt to the 21st century.

Sport has traditionally been a place of male domination, reserved for men who meet the demands of what is called hegemonic masculinity (heterosexuality, physical development, stoicism, and low affectivity). This domination explains the rejection of other forms of masculinity, including that of the gay man, in sports. Despite the social change in advanced societies, sports and especially football remain one of the most accentuated pillars of androcentric and heteronormative domination, with hostility towards the presence of gays and lesbians in their exercise rooms.

These days we are surprised by the news that Jakub Jankto, a Getafe footballer – currently on loan to Sparta Prague – has publicly declared himself homosexual through his social networks.

That this fact is relevant news says a lot about the reality of football and what football should be in the 21st century. With this statement, Jakub Jankto becomes the first player in the Spanish men’s league to publicly declare that he is gay, enabling him to make the necessary change that football needs.

The reaction of Spanish and international football, with messages of support from UEFA, La Liga, football clubs such as Barcelona, ​​​​​​Juventus, Bayern Munich or Ajax, or their own teams, Getafe and Sparta in Prague, one might think that there something is stirring in the bowels of this sport’s institutions.

What the Getafe player is experiencing is something similar to what water polo Olympian Víctor Gutiérrez experienced years ago, understanding and acceptance.

There is no doubt that it is good news that a footballer has the courage to freely express his sexual orientation without fear of being rejected, threatened with death or harassed for such a fundamental reason as accepting his nature and its individual rights. Something that is not normal within this sport, which to this day continues to represent an anachronism from the past in terms of gender values ​​and sexual orientation.

Not surprisingly, the recent history of football has left us with the memory of authentic dramas following the public exposure of many of these athletes. A well-known example is that of Justin Fashanu, who eventually committed suicide after revealing his sexual condition under false accusations and pressure from coaches, athletes and the media. Another case is that of football referee Jesús Tomillero from Cádiz, who, after being insulted and physically assaulted several times, and after constant death threats for disclosing his homosexuality, was escorted to the football pitches by police officers to ensure his safety. safety and personal integrity until he made the final decision to stop arbitrating.

In some cases, this climate of rejection and persecution is fostered, or at least condoned, by public institutions. This is the example of what happened at the Winter Olympics in Sochi (Russia) in 2014. And close to our data is the episode in which UEFA banned lighting the stadium with the LGBT flag in the match between Germany and Hungary in 2021 What can I say about the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Despite everything, something seems to be happening in football in recent years. Joshua Cavallo, the Australian midfielder for Adelaide United, came out publicly in 2021, much like Jake Daniels has done in English football more recently.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar opened an unparalleled debate in the history of football on sports homophobia, with numerous expressions of public condemnation from European teams, athletes and government officials. Therefore, everything points to football being destined to recognize sexual diversity on the field as well as a standard of normality for the century we are in.

Not in vain, it is not normal that “there is no gay footballer”, as is often said, because bearing in mind that one of the latest studies on the LGTBI population in Europe concluded that at least 6% of the The European population considered themselves gay or lesbian – Germany (7.4%), Spain (6.95%) and the United Kingdom (6.5%) occupy the first three positions. In all likelihood, at least an estimated percentage should represent the average frequency of LGTBI people in sports. If this hypothesis is met, it would mean that in Spain, 384 of the 5,494 top athletes cataloged by the Higher Sports Council in 2021 would belong to a sexual minority. Unfortunately, the pressures and climate these minorities experience in the sport is often unkind, so it is not surprising that these percentages can be lower in men’s football.

This article was published in ‘The Conversation’

Source: La Verdad

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